Teenage Wasteland
by Jasmine Starlight
Summary: SasuHina. He was Uchiha Sasuke, he attended Konoha High, as a junior outcast that’s how he prefers it whacked out punk, he has a brother who’s a dick and is also dating his English teacherthey’re contemplating moving in together, parents who confuse him
1. Meet The Cast

_**Teenage Wasteland**_

_**by Jasmine Starlight**_

**_Full summary: Sasu/Hina. He was Uchiha Sasuke, he attended Konoha High, as a junior outcast(that's how he prefers it) whacked out punk, he has a brother who's a dick and is also dating his English teacher(they're contemplating moving in together), parents who confused him for said brother and a garage band that seemed promising. He works in a book/convenience/pornography store (which his teacher and his brother's friends just have to frequent constantly) and help out at a children's center (Inari was like a sponge, a sponge that needed purple highlights) just so he can pay for his new guitar because his father refuses to pay for anything band related (honestly, who wants to play the cello? Or the lute? Or the viola?). She was Hyuuga Hinata, popular, pretty and pleasant (she was also several other 'p' words, had a speech impediment, was too demure, and really pissed him off, only sometimes though). But she has problems of her own to deal with, another sucky father who places value in his other offspring, constantly belittling and looking down her achievements, academically and socially. If only she could be prettier, smarter, classier, wittier, like her younger sister Hanabi. It was no wonder she didn't have suicidal tendencies between her snot-nosed father and her superficial friends who insisted on treating her like she was retarded because she used to stutter (smiling was getting harder and harder, it was also getting harder and harder to hide her scars) and her over-protective cousin (whom her father would gladly trade her for) who had the best of intentions but when it came down to it didn't really know her or her tastes for that matter. Really, the two of them coming together had really not been expected...tortured daughter and tortured artist? I mean where's the attraction there? _**

This is another AU…I swear I have to start writing more normal fics…

It's also another HS AU…at least I almost finished my other HS AU…can't have too many of those without seeming like an idiot. But I don't have many Naruto HS AUS ………mmmmmm……interesting. Being forced to water my mother's plants birthed this…voila.

I have to start finishing things…T-T. Side note starts off rather…I dunno…boring…

**CHAPTER ONE**

**MEET THE CAST**

The clock ticks agonizingly slow, ticking off the minutes to the temporary freedom of the weekend, the only solace of the over worked high school student.

Finally, the second hand lands on the '3' and the siren call of the last day's bell has rung, there is a mad scramble for the door, as papers are haphazardly shuffled and crumpled as their owners dash for the door.

Uchiha Sasuke would have liked to escape into the mad crowd that pulsed toward the exit doors, but just before the precious alarm of redemption had rung his English teacher, Hatake Kakashi had called him up to the desk to discuss something about his term paper.

Kakashi-sensei was not the most efficient teachers and so when the bell had rung Sasuke had valiantly tried to hide behind Naruto's orange shirt as a way of survival.

His sensei had quickly seen through it and gave him a look that clearly read 'And you're going where?'

Sasuke fought the urge to whine, really what more did he have to say?

That something about his term paper had turned out to be a questionnaire on his brother, Uchiha Itachi (see dickhead formerly known as Aniki), but you probably already know all about him.

Yes, his older brother was dating his English teacher.

But folks it doesn't stop there! In fact Sasuke has even been to Kakashi's apartment (for brunch no less, honestly what 16 year-old, heterosexual mind you, boy wants to go to a brunch at his brother's boyfriend's house with a bunch of old school faculty members? Most of who were either gay or old maids. Honestly Orochimaru-sensei? WTF?), which is a serious blow to you rep if your caught at your teacher's house.

It gets worse, Sasuke had seen the face beneath the hair and the weird scarves; several girls and female teachers he knew would kill for that kind of information. Sasuke really just wanted to sink through a crack in the floorboards.

And Sasuke had spent years crafting the perfect balance of outcast-ness, rebellion, hair gel, smudged eyeliner, snarkiness, which isn't a word but Sasuke can't be bothered to care anymore about real words or fake words, dark nail polish (so he was spending too much time with Itachi, it was too late to catch that boat), unattainabilty, which in retrospect isn't a word either, and garage band angst.

You could be labeled a teacher's pet and he could be labeled a pedophile.

Actually it would be aphidophilic. But that's irrelevant.

Finally Sasuke is able to escape from the sinister hentai clutches of his teacher only to bump into his sexually frenzied brother.

The fates just love to torture Sasuke-kun. And why wouldn't they, after all they had sent him an immeasurable amount of angst, a dickhead formally referred to as Aniki, a withholding father, and an oblivious mother.

Sasuke just did what he did best in situations like this (which happened quite frequently to his dismay) kept his head down and walk very, very fast in any direction.

Sometimes he paused to say something witty and cynical but most times he walked off into the dimming florescently lighted halls only to reappear at Shikamaru's garage playing till his fingers bled on his guitar.

But today he had to be home early, so he could be at some stupid dinner party for his father's business associates, like Sasuke cared.

His father's colleagues could suck his dick for all the good it did him, of course Itachi didn't have to go because "obviously his manners are much better than yours and he has been much more diligent in keeping the family traditions."

Sasuke wondered if there was a family tradition that included screwing other dudes, because if there was his father was _obviously_ not following that one.

Some times Sasuke flirted with the idea of telling his parents about his brother, correction his parent about his brother, his mom already knew. But Sasuke had some twisted form of brotherly love left, right?

Honestly, the woman was totally way out of his father's league, how had he managed _that_?

Now that thought left Sasuke with the image of his father in his high school years with 80's hair, pastel clothing, all the while nodding his head to side as he tried to pick up his future wife at a frat party; which was very disturbing because Sasuke had a vivid imagination that painted pictures in a clarity that was horrifying.

But that was irrelevant because he was now escaping the fundamentally useless prison known as school to the fundamentally graffiti covered bus system.

The buses were so covered in graffiti that no one knew what the original color had been; Sasuke was still chipping away the paint.

But still, the bus was a good place to think, about nothing and everything.

About how annoying Naruto's demands for ramen were, or how tight Shikamaru's ponytail could become before circulation to his brain was cut off, or how Chouji stored food, or what Asuma-sensei's lungs were made of after smoking three packs a week for a consecutive x amount of years.

Yep, just about anything under the sun.

What he dreaded was: having to get off at his stop and walk through all the peaceful, identical-looking houses that lined his neighborhood.

The sun was chirping and the birds were shining, well maybe Sasuke had inhaled some Febreeze™ the last time his mother had cleaned house, really that fresh spring scent was addicting.

Sasuke despised those things in the above paragraph, that's why he was slouching along in his all black clothing, with the hood of his black sweatshirt pulled up, (wouldn't want that freakishly pale skin getting tanned now would we?) glaring at the perfect cemented pavement.

He swung a left and began trudging up his driveway, when he was hit with a spray of water that knocked his hood off and made his hair droop. If you don't know what a monumental blow that is to his image, well I don't know what to tell you.

Wiping the water out of his eyes with the back of his hand, he turned to look at the source of the fluid attack, ready to launch a series of expletives, what happened instead was very unusual.

When his eyes took in the source of the water the curses died on his lips, what he saw instead was a petite girl in cut off shorts, wielding a hose like a lethal weapon.

Sasuke's heart stopped beating, the birds started chirping Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and the sun was illuminating her hair and harps were playing in the background.

But the moment was ruined when Sasuke swallowing some of the water that he was being immersed in and so he began to cough and sputter, Hinata, finally noticing that she was drowning someone, dropped the hose and started to run over to Sasuke.

"I'm s-s-so s-s-sorry, h-h-here l-let m-me help-p." she stammered nervously. And so she began to fuss over him like a strange bird, Sasuke was drifting off into La La Land.

When he finally decided to receive messages from Earth he noticed that A) this girl seemed familiar B) his hair was very soggy and C) aforementioned girl looked very upset for giving him an impromptu bath.

But Sasuke remained still and waited for her to either A) realize that she was almost slapping him B) he had seen down her shirt (she really should be more careful about that) or C) try to not hyperventilate.

Eventually he decided to speak, "I think that's about as dry as I'll get." He said, in an oddly calm voice.

"Oh." Hinata replied. "A-Again, I am r-really s-sorry for getting you wet, I'm Hinata." She said nervously.

_Stupid girl doesn't even know we go to the same school, are in the same grade, and have the same stupid, ero, lazy bastard for a teacher._

"Well, thanks for the bath, I'll be going now." Sasuke said caustically as he remained his traipse up the driveway, the effect would have worked better if he hadn't been squelching every other step.

Once he got to the door, he turned to look at Hinata for dramatic affect, oh the angst before waking into his house and slamming the door behind him.

He was good…almost too good. But that was irrelevant because he had to squelch out of those wet clothes and put on, insert shudder, a SUIT!

Can you imagine, Sasuke, our precious emo Sasuke in Armani? Blegh!

Dreadful, absolutely dreadful.

Although, Itachi didn't see it that way, really Itachi found sick pleasure in forcing Sasuke to go "shopping." Not just one category of shopping, when Itachi shopped the stores were at risk of being bought out. …it sucked for Sasuke especially when Itachi had taken it upon himself (with no directive from their parents) to educate Sasuke.

About everything.

And when Itachi said the word "everything" at that precise moment while waiting for Sasuke to come out of the dressing room to model something of Itachi's choice, Sasuke shuddered, not because of the hideous pair of plaid cargo shorts he was currently in but because of what

"everything" entailed.

He was right to shudder because after they left Hot Topic, Itachi had dragged Sasuke into an S & M boutique to start his **education**. Sasuke had never been more traumatized but some of the stuff Itachi mention (in passing) seemed sort of relevant. If he was into guys.

Which he wasn't. But Naruto might be interested, if he could remember not to repress this memory.

Then they went condom shopping, how touching.

Every second spent in that godforsaken drugstore, which Itachi going a mile a minute about "his preferences", was like watching a little tumor eat away at his gray matter.

It was like Itachi being the sister Sasuke never had and never wanted…really when he became gay did he have to perpetuate all the stereotypes?

Couldn't he have at least pretended to not like shopping?

Not even a little?

But no, Itachi loved shopping and all the other things that Sasuke despised.

…but what else is new?

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Hinata wearily trudged inside, after thoroughly soaking her neighbor. Dejectedly she plopped down onto the couch for a brief respite; alack it was not to be as her father decided at that very moment that he had to lecture Hinata.

"blah…blah…disappointment…blah…achievement…blah…bloo…disgusting…your sister…blah…lecture…lecture…long winded sigh...blah…BLECH!"

Hinata had long since mastered the technique of looking like she was paying apt attention, when she really wasn't. It was a gift that came with years of belittlement.

Hinata sighed wearily, "and I hope you will decided to start shaping up, especially since our neighbors and my business colleague is having a very prestigious soiree that could be crucial to the survival of Hyuuga Inc. Don't mess this up. Dress appropriately and behave accordingly. Don't mess this up. Be careful. Don't mess this up. Be ready in two hours…don't mess this up."

_Why thank you father, I love you too_.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Promptly at 5.29 Hinata was in the living room, ready to go. Her attire consisted of jeans and a nondescript lavender tank top, her modest two piece bathing suit traveling in a nondescript designer canvas bag.

And promptly at 5.43 she walked over to the Uchiha household with her immediate family as well as Neji's family.

This was going to fun, fun, fun.

Did I mention that Hinata is a closet user of sarcasm?

Guess not.

Promptly at 5.46 the door is answered by Uchiha Itachi, 6'3, twentysomething, black hair, black eyes, abundance of black nail polish, did I forget mention that Hinata is very observant?

Guess not.

When her family (immediate and otherwise) gain entry into the Uchiha residence Neji immediately disappeared and reappeared in the presence of Rock Lee, exact height unknown, black hair, black eyes, unique eyebrows, origin unknown. So Hinata liked to categorize things, it's not like she had anything better to do.

But I digress, in Neji's company was also: Tenten brown hair, brown eyes, Princess Leia hairstyle, and an abundance of one Inuzuka Kiba: also brown hair, brown eyes, appears that hair has never been combed. Ever.

But disregarding that, Hinata quietly made her way toward the refreshment buffet; there was an ample amount of food for each of the varying palettes. None of which Hinata paid any mind to, as her attention was directed toward the soda; she could eat something later.

It wasn't as if her parents were around to chastise her or anything, her father was having an excellent time networking it seemed, her mother was having a robust debate with the Uchiha matriarch, and Hanabi was entertaining several of her friends raucously.

Gee, Hanabi sure was popular.

_You could be just as popular_

Aren't I already?

_You'll never be as popular as Hanabi_

Why should that matter?

_Hanabi should have been first born_

That's n-not relevant to a-anything

_Oh, isn't it?_

N-no

_It is and you know it_

N-no i-it's not!

_You've always been jealous of her, haven't you?_

I h-have not!

_Every day of your life, the constant comparisons and sniping barbs at your value must have taken a toll Hinata-chan…_

Don't c-call me that!

_Don't you like it when I call you that, **Hinata-chan**? _

I don't.

_Hanabi would._

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter!

_Yes it does_

No…!

_Yes, Hinata-chan…_

No, leave me alone!

_I can't leave you alone Hinata-chan because you and I are one and the same._

No w-we're n-not!

_You can deny it all you want but you'll never get rid of me… _

Hinata sighed, she didn't fit in here, and so she turned to made a speedy exit toward the pool area, which while lit romantically offered very little chance that she would have to make shallow small talk with schoolmates.

Unfortunately Hinata's temporary sanctuary was already occupied, no matter, she could always camp out in the bathroom.

She almost left when she ran into the boy she had drowned that afternoon, her flush came back in full force, "Er…hi." She said awkwardly.

"Hey." He said.

Hinata took this lull in their meaningful conversation to take stock of Sasuke's attire, which at one point may have been designer chic but wasn't any longer.

The blazer had been badly ravaged by what looked like Chihuahuas with paintbrushes, the baggy cargo shorts may at one point have been pants, but not anymore. They were cut messily and the large pockets made of plaid material that while didn't clash looked odd in the haphazard places they had been sewn onto. The t-shirt he wore underneath seemed the only thing left in its original form, the message displayed in hot red script read: "FOR HOT UCHIHA LOVING CALL: 1-800-QUICKFUCK. KINKS COST EXTRA."

Hinata sighed.

Sasuke took notice of Hinata's frequent sighing and decided to speak, "It's nice to see you without a hose in your hand." _If only Kakashi-sensei were here to giggle like a school girl on crack._

Hinata smiled nervously. "Heh."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Hey, who's that guy Hinata's talking to?" Ino asked curiously.

"How should I know?" Sakura replied indignantly, "I don't keep track of Konoha's social outcasts."

Ino smirked, "Yeah because that's Hinata's job!" she exclaimed as they both broke into hysterical laughter. Maybe it was the vodka Kiba had spiked the punch with.

"You know who's looking hot tonight?" Ino asked after their giggles had subsided.

"Who?" Sakura asked loudly.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Ino said succinctly.

"Huh." Sakura replied eloquently.

"That hot blonde over there, retard."

"Which one? There're five, is he the one in the middle?" Sakura asked drunkenly, as she started hiccupping violently.

"Sakura, here comes Neji-senpai!" Ino squealed girlishly, abruptly changing the subject.

"Where?" Sakura said, suddenly alert.

"He's looking smoking tonight." Ino observed intelligently.

"Quick! How do I look?" Sakura demanded.

"You need more gloss." Ino said.

"Damnit, where's my purse!"

Ino took her little pinkie and swiping at her own lips, she quickly transferred said gloss onto Sakura's. "There."

"Thanks Ino, you're such a good friend."

"I know, aren't I?"

Cue maniac giggle.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"So." Sasuke said.

"Yeah." Hinata replied.

"…"

"So, your shirt…" Hinata trailed off hesitantly.

"Like it?" Sasuke asked boredly.

"I-I'm n-not s-sure l-like is the word." Hinata said as she smiled weakly.

Sasuke grinned slightly, "That's sounds like something my dad would say, only nicer."

Hinata's smile grew stronger. "Mine too." She conceded.

"Really? That's new, pleasant, popular, and perfect Hyuuga Hinata dislikes snotty father." Sasuke said dramatically.

Hinata coughed, "I-I'm n-not sure that 'dislikes' is the right word-d. And I'm not perfect."

Sasuke smirked slightly, "Loathes? Yes you are, I've seen your handwriting."

"No."

"Repulsed?"

"Nope."

"Pig-headed?"

"Not yet."

"Stupid mofo?"

Hinata smiled and shook her head.

"Annoying?"

Annoying seems safe, doesn't it?

_He'll find out._

Don't be silly.

_He will._

Shut. Up.

"Alright, l-let's go with t-that." Hinata suggested as she smiled her 100-watt smile.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Sure."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

A/N: So, what is the verdict? Terrible? Or so good it's retarded? Ignore that.

I made Ino and Sakura bubble-heads (for now)

Suggestions for plot twists are very much welcome. Please leave your name and request at the tone. BEEEEEPPP.

Any who, I'm thinking of writing a YAOI high school fic. Neji/Sasu anyone?


	2. Don't Feed The Animals

_**Teenage Wasteland**_

_**by Jasmine Starlight**_

_**Full summary: Sasu/Hina. He was Uchiha Sasuke, he attended Konoha High, as a junior outcast(that's how he prefers it) whacked out punk, he has a brother who's a dick and is also dating his English teacher(they're contemplating moving in together), parents who confused him for said brother and a garage band that seemed promising. He works in a book/convenience/pornography store (which his teacher and his brother's friends just have to frequent constantly) and help out at a children's center (Inari was like a sponge, a sponge that needed purple highlights) just so he can pay for his new guitar because his father refuses to pay for anything band related (honestly, who wants to play the cello? Or the lute? Or the viola?). She was Hyuuga Hinata, popular, pretty and pleasant (she was also several other 'p' words, had a speech impediment, was too demure, and really pissed him off, only sometimes though). But she has problems of her own to deal with, another sucky father who places value in his other offspring, constantly belittling and looking down her achievements, academically and socially. If only she could be prettier, smarter, classier, wittier, like her younger sister Hanabi. It was no wonder she didn't have suicidal tendencies between her snot-nosed father and her superficial friends who insisted on treating her like she was retarded because she used to stutter (smiling was getting harder and harder, it was also getting harder and harder to hide her scars) and her over-protective cousin (whom her father would gladly trade her for) who had the best of intentions but when it came down to it didn't really know her or her tastes for that matter. Really, the two of them coming together had really not been expected...tortured daughter and tortured artist? I mean where's the attraction there? **_

This is another AU…I swear I have to start writing more normal fics…

It's also another HS AU…at least I almost finished my other HS AU…can't have too many of those without seeming like an idiot. But I don't have many Naruto HS AUS ………mmmmmm……interesting. Being forced to water my mother's plants birthed this…voila.

I have to start finishing things…T-T.

This was inspired by an excess of Bleach fanfiction and manga……if Ishida shows up don't be surprised.

Hinata's psychological problems are inspired and drawn from the character Harumi Chono on Paranoia Agent. Which isn't mine, just letting you know.

**CHAPTER TWO**

**DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS**

"So, what do you like to do for fun?"

"I don't know, read? I used to play tennis."

"Used to?"

"I couldn't concentrate properly anymore."

"Why do you think that is?"

"I'm not sure." Hinata shifted uneasily in her seat, trying to avoid the piercing stare of her psychiatrist, or "youth counselor."

"Hinata, do you think we've made progress?" Umino Iruka asked.

Hinata gulped, she was suffering from a case of serious dry mouth, "Can I have a glass of water?" she asked politely.

"In a minute, you're avoiding the question."

_Maybe you should back off then…_

Stop, he's only trying to help…

_Help? You think he's trying to help us? No one has ever wanted to help US! Just because he pays a little extra attention to you doesn't mean anything! Do you hear me!_

I'm incapable of not hearing you.

_Lucky you, eh?_

I wish you'd stop.

_No._

I never did anything to you! Why can't you leave me alone!

_Didn't you hear me before? You and I are the same person._

Go away.

_Now, now, we can't always have what we want…_

N-No!

_Yes._

It's m-my mind!

_Our. It's our mind._

Get out! Leave me be!

_I told you, I can't do that._

Hinata licked her dry lips nervously, "Am I?" she replied apprehensively.

"You are, but we don't have time to get into that today, you can get that water now." Iruka said as he leaned back in his leather chair and pondered contemplatively.

Hinata had started coming to him a year ago because her focus in school has seemingly disappeared, Iruka had spoken with her teachers, coaches, employers, no one really seemed to know her, each one told the same story of her demeanor, but beyond that they hadn't known her bad days from her good.

Iruka held off on speaking with the girl's friends, specifically because Hinata never mentioned them, nor did she even imply that she had friends.

After briefly speaking with her younger sister, Iruka was somewhat closer to the root of Hinata's psychological problems, but not that much.

He had spoken with her cousin, Neji, but to no avail while he seemed to have a deeper insight into her "issues" he still left much to be desired.

How was it, that this girl had kept everyone in her life at arm's length without any of them realizing it?

Logically, Iruka had spoken to Hinata's parents first, her mother pleasant and quiet, like Hinata, her father was her complete opposite in every way. If it wasn't for the family resemblance Iruka would have been hard pressed to believe that they were related.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

School was useless and hypocritical, the PA announcements every day might at one point have been of interest to somebody but not to anyone Sasuke knew.

After hearing it for so long it felt like there were bees buzzing in his ears, which made him want bee repellant.

Nevertheless, Mondays were good days only because of the fact that he did not have English last period.

That was pretty much the only reason he came in on Mondays.

…maybe for lunch too…but mostly for the first reason.

Honestly, whoever did the programming had serious issues; Sasuke had History first period with Maito Gai.

Will the catastrophes never cease?

"AND THEREFORE MY SHINING PUPILS THAT IS WHY WAR IS WRONG!"

Ughh.

"Thusly, forcing millions of people into concentration/labor camps is also wrong. Very wrong; as is the forced genocide of those millions of people. VERY WRONG! Never attempt this flourishing alumnus of this school!"

Sasuke pondered what it would be like if this was an AP course, then he quickly banished that idea as Gai was winding down, "Sadly, this period is drawing to a close my noble youths, so for your homework on this night: PLEASE READ THE THIRD CHAPTER IN YOUR INFORMATIVE HISTORY TEXTS!"

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Just as Sasuke finished taking out his frustrations on his locker, he was approached by Ino and Sakura.

"Yes?" he asked as he groped through his book bag for a textbook.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura trailed off.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, Sakura never called him that anymore, unless… "What do you want and how can I make you stop breathing my air?"

Ino, who had much less anxiety than Sakura and not nearly enough intelligence, went straight for the kill. "You know that kid? Naruto-kun?"

Sasuke blinked.

Ino used her most pleading eyes.

Sasuke remained unaffected.

"Ye-es." He replied slowly.

"I am in love with him and one day hope to have his children and live in a house in the suburbs with our four children, our cat, and a parakeet."

"And you're wasting my time with this because?"

"What's his number?" Ino demanded bluntly.

"What makes you so sure that I even have his number?"

"You're like friends aren't you?"

"What if we're like not friends?"

"But aren't you?"

"…"

"Answer my question!" Ino decreed sourly.

Sasuke, that sick twisted freak, began humming under his breath, as he studiously ignored Ino and Sakura and shuffled away toward his next class.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"You keep trying to market this feeling. I heard what you said, and no were not the same, No were not the same." Sasuke persisted as he continued his shuffle.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Where were you yesterday?" Tenten asked as she dispatched a stray eyelash.

"Around." Hinata said quietly.

"Couldn't find you at that Uchiha kid's party. Kiba told the most unbelievable story about one of his old girlfriend's. I wanted to kill that sick fuck."

"…"

"C'mon let's go, Kurenai'll flip if we're late."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Hinata stared at her friend blankly, "Who?" Tenten asked distractedly as she picked through the racks of the glittery boutique they frequented so often.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Ino exclaimed enthusiastically.

"You should see him, if I didn't already have Neji-senpai I would totally go after him!" More inane giggling.

_You don't have Neji, because he'll never be stupid enough to date you._

Hinata hung back to make sure she wasn't going to start gagging on the sheer idiocy of the conversation. "Have you talked to him yet?" Hinata asked blandly.

"Well, I tried to get his phone number but that weirdo Sasuke wouldn't give it to me." Ino exclaimed.

"Why not?" Tenten asked aptly, enraptured already by Ino's harrowing tale of lies, deceit, and injustice.

"Like I'm supposed to know why he's such a freak." Ino declared disgustedly.

"What did he say?" Hinata asked, veiling her miniscule interest.

"Starting humming some song, he's such a freak. Something about not being the same." Sakura piped up.

"And markets." Ino added smugly as if talking about how Sasuke was a freak made it true.

_Market this feeling. I heard what you said, and no we're not the same. No we're not the same._

Hinata suddenly felt sick.

"Does this make my thighs look big?"

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru were sprawled in their usual places in Shikamaru's garage, which after many years of disuse had become a safe haven for angsty teenagers.

Chouji had to go grocery shopping with his mother.

"Ino asked me for your number today." Sasuke remarked snidely as he twisted copper wire into funny shapes.

"What number?" Naruto asked as he studied his abstract porno mags,

"Your phone number, moron."

"Huh."

Shikamaru shifted in the tiniest way, Gaara noted this with slight amusement.

Naruto set aside his magazines for a moment to stare at Sasuke incredulously, "If this is your idea of a joke then it's not funny Temee."

"Why would I want to joke about you and Ino?"

Shikamaru's left eyebrow twitched, "…I don't like blondes." Naruto declared after a moment of silence.

"You're a blonde." Sasuke pointed out as he fashioned the wire into a noose.

Something in Shikamaru's eyes changed.

"But Ino is too bossy for me, man…Sakura-chan and I have a much more promising future."

The chances of that happening were about the same as…well Ino liking Naruto, Gaara noted sourly.

**END**

**Quile-**……um…thanks…I have trouble with too much parentheses and adding too much information at one time…I should stop doing that.

**Lunarangel**- really long review…thanks…nothing much happened in this chapter…very disappointed to note that…thanks for the input.

**Anime/Manga Lubber-**…I like revamping Sasuke's image…makes him easier for me to like him.

**Lun-**…short and sweet.

**mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY****-** here you have it…

**kenshinlover2002-** thanks.

**Soulcollector-** well…some people can only take so much before they crack, you know?

**Fractured wings01-** Hi. …Do I victimize Hinata?

**Onna-** I surprised that no one else has done it, I might do it just to see how well I can write it. I have a lot of imagination to spare.

**Ed-chan-**………thanks

**Firewindgurl-**…heh

**Dark-wolf-soulX**-…teeehee.

**shikaruTo-** I have uploaded it. **This** **Is How A Heart Breaks** is its title. I wrote an absurdly long summary for that one too.

**Momo-sama-**…thanks


	3. What Lays Beneath

_**Teenage Wasteland**_

_**by Jasmine Starlight**_

Full summary: Sasu/Hina. He was Uchiha Sasuke, he attended Konoha High, as a junior outcast(that's how he prefers it) whacked out punk, he has a brother who's a dick and is also dating his English teacher(they're contemplating moving in together) a garage band that seemed promising. She was Hyuuga Hinata, popular, pretty and pleasant (she was also several other 'p' words, had a speech impediment). But she has problems of her own to deal with, another sucky father who places value in his other offspring, constantly belittling and looking down her achievements, academically and socially. If only she could be prettier, smarter, classier, wittier. Really, the two of them coming together had really not been expected...tortured daughter and tortured artist? I mean where's the attraction there?

…sometimes I hate Ino.

Some scenes from this chapter were inspired by Mean Girls. But I don't own it.

I think Hinata turned out to be OOC…

Manga is the manna of life!

**CHAPTER THREE **

**WHAT LAYS BENEATH**

"I heard you asked Sasuke for Naruto's number." Shikamaru said through clenched teeth.

Ino looked up at Shikamaru with wide blue eyes, "So?"

"So? That's all you have to say?" Shikamaru asked unusually agitated.

"What do you want me to tell you? I'm not going to stop living my life because of our arrangement." Ino said.

"Then maybe our arrangement is over, like it should have been." Shikamaru replied boredly.

"What you saying?" Ino demanded.

"What I'm saying is, goodbye I've officially dumped you…this was too troublesome." Shikamaru remarked lightly as he turned to leave.

"What! Where do you think you're going?" Ino demanded once again, imperiously.

"Home. Like I should have been all those other nights." Shikamaru said as he made his timely exit lest Ino should have a temper tantrum.

Ino, surprisingly did not have a tantrum, although she was dumbstruck for several minutes, not a good look for her believe you me.

"Was I just dumped?" she asked incredulously to empty air.

Yamanaka Ino, for the first time since junior high had been dumped, she found that this was not a good color on her, so she three-wayed Sakura and Hinata, who she found was somewhat lacking in sympathy.

"You want to do something fun?" Sakura asked breathlessly.

"Sure." Hinata replied blandly.

"Like what?" Ino asked boredly.

"Let's go to the mall!" Sakura squealed Hinata could see Sakura primping in front of her vanity as she said this.

"And do what?" Ino said disinterestedly.

"Make fun of all the losers without credit cards!" Sakura squealed again, Hinata held the phone away from her ear in disgust.

Ino let out a long suffering sigh, "Alright Sakura, let's go."

"What about Tenten?" Hinata asked automatically.

"Don't invite her; she's driving me insane with that boyfriend of hers." Ino said imperiously, Hinata thought that to be a little pretentious, especially since Ino never shut up about any of her own boyfriends.

Hinata dutifully acquiesced and hung up the phone, _is that all there is to life?_ She wondered.

_I hope not._

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was wandering off in the dusk, aimlessly loitering in front of shop windows until he bumped into a blonde loudly talking on her cell, "Gaara don't be embarrassed that he doesn't show any interest, he's just a little bit dense." The blonde woman said reassuringly.

"Ow." Shikamaru said as he lay sprawled on the sidewalk, "Gaara I've got to go I just bumped into someone because I wasn't paying attention, yeah I'll see later, bye."

Shikamaru frowned, this girl seemed familiar. But he quickly dismissed that notion as the girl briskly began picking up her packages and straightening her skirt.

"Hey, sorry about bumping into you." She offered by way of apology, extending her hand to pull him off the sidewalk.

"It's fine." Shikamaru replied tersely.

"Hey, aren't you Shikamaru?" she asked in recognition.

"Yes." Shikamaru replied warily.

"Sorry I didn't recognize you, I've been a bit distracted. Gaara's told me about you." Temari said as she smiled a little.

Shikamaru was put off by how much she could say without him having to say anything back her smile was also very pretty not that things like that mattered to him or anything.

"I'm Temari; by any chance would you like to get some coffee with me? My way of apologizing."

"You already have coffee." Shikamaru pointed to the Styrofoam cup clenched in her manicured, black talons.

"I could always get more. Caffeine addict, you know."

"Oh." Shikamaru said quietly.

"Coming?" Temari said appealingly. Shikamaru took a moment to mull it over, over all it was computing nothing but good. Free coffee, which Shikamaru desperately needed but never bought simply because he never had enough energy to and perhaps a chance to see that pretty half smile again.

Never let it be said that Nara Shikamaru lacked interest in the female species. Instead he lacked interest in the frivolous expenditures of most of his female peers. But Temari for all intents and purposes seemed to be cliché free.

Temari seemed alright and she hadn't even asked/demanded him to carry any of her bags yet. This was looking promising.

"Alright." And Shikamaru ambled along behind her.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Ino had already demolished any of her previous records for angry revenge shopping, hitting all her favorite designers and preparing them to be sold out of everything for several weeks.

Hinata thought that it was pointless to shop until you dropped Ino-style because in two weeks she would just be angry again over some pointless argument she'd had with someone over something that wouldn't even be important the next day. And then she'd be back shopping to soothe her unreasonable anger and her ego, she would get angrier because she had cleared out the stores the day before.

Hinata boredly examined a pair of sapphire studs in the window of a shop they passed on the prowl for more stores for Ino to buy out of business.

Suddenly Sakura went very stiff and began talking very loudly, "Ino! Let's go to that lingerie boutique you love; I heard they were having a sale." She declared for the world to hear.

"Hold your horses Sakura I want to get a salad, I'm starving." Ino barked as she dug around her purse for her money. _And you still haven't lost any weight, tsk, tsk._

"But we can always get a salad later; I really want to check out that sale!" Sakura insisted firmly.

Hinata boredly began smacking her lips together. "Alright Haruno but make it quick." Ino commanded opulently. Sakura nearly fainted in triumph, before Ino decided she wanted a burger instead. "Sakura why don't you go to store and I Hinata and I will meet you there." Ino said as she made a beeline toward the fast food counter.

Sakura clapped a hand to her forehead and Hinata regarded her face amusedly, she having realized that Sakura had spotted Shikamaru sitting in the Starbucks with another girl; Sakura did the oddest things sometimes.

It was quiet until Ino realized that it was Shikamaru talking to Sabaku Temari from their school, before all hell broke loose. Ino's face was turning a fabulous shade of purple to match her ridiculous top, which contained less than one square foot of fabric.

"Who the fuck does he think he is?" Ino asked rhetorically.

Sakura of course didn't get the point and tried to answer, "Shut up." Ino decreed like the bitch she was. _I thought Sakura was supposed to be intelligent._

"Why don't we get back to shopping?" Sakura suggested brightly.

Hinata rolled her eyes and began fake coughing, "What's your problem?" Ino asked bluntly.

"I'm sick." Hinata replied between fake coughs, "I better get home, see you later." Hinata said as she sidled away, when she was a safe distance away from Ino and Sakura she collapsed onto a bench and let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"I need new friends." Hinata muttered to herself. She remained there for several minutes watching the people walk by in throngs, and then she got up and went into a nearby bookshop. If she was going to take advantage of her no spending limit, she might actually do something enjoyable for herself.

Bypassing her usual fare of doom and gloom psychological thrillers that usually kept her interest, she made a beeline toward manga, she was a closet anime-fan girl.

Ignoring the Sgt. Frog comics she scanned the shelves, Hana-Yori-Dango. Hot Gimmick. Kare Kano. Bleach. Yami No Matsuei.

All were favorites of Hinata's but today she was looking for something different, picking out a sleek tome entitled: D N Angel, Hinata skimmed through the book, deciding that it was good enough for her, she took the first two volumes. She also took Girl Got Game, FAKE, Confidential Confessions, Snowdrop, Angel Sanctuary, X/1999, MARS, and Kill Me Kiss Me.

By the end of her sojourn to the book store she had amassed quite a lot of books, most of which obstructed her vision so it should have been no surprise when she collided with someone, "Oof!" Hinata exclaimed as she hit the ground.

"Are you alright?" Hinata found herself looking into two very blue eyes, eyes that belonged to Ino's future eye-candy (like that'll happen) Uzumaki Naruto.

"S-Sorry." She mumbled before she began to gather her books together in a neat pile.

"That's alright, I'm just clumsy." Naruto said cheerfully as he helped her gather her freakish amount of manga. "Hey, Hinata how come you have so much manga?" he asked as he helped her carry it all to the counter.

"Um…tired of r-reading books with actual substance?" Hinata said nervously.

"Nice." Naruto nodded.

"Yeah." Hinata said awkwardly as the cashier rang up her formidable purchase, the cash register chiming in glee. "Hey, Hinata, are you doing anything later?" Naruto asked almost shyly.

"Uh…um…no." Hinata replied anxiously under the full stare of Naruto blue puppy eyes.

"Sugei! Sugei! Hey wanna come see my band play?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure." Hinata felt herself saying. _What am I doing? I barely know Uzumaki Naruto. _

"Cool, here's the address, wear something I dunno…outlandish. It's quirks and kinks night down at the club." Naruto said happily as he bounced out of the store carrying most of Hinata's manga.

_Quirks and kinks?_

"Oh shit, I almost forgot, here." Naruto dug around in his pockets and pulled out a crumpled yellow piece of paper.

Hinata smoothed it out and read it, "The Pixie Styck." She read aloud.

Naruto beamed, "My band is playing there tonight, actually we're not even getting paid, we're opening and the only reason we got the gig is because Sasuke-temee's brother owns the club. Shit, I've said too much."

Hinata processed all this information slowly, during the tentative pause that followed Naruto's statement. "Okay." She finally said.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked.

"Alright, do you know where I live?" Hinata asked calmly.

"Everybody knows where you live." Naruto said as he grinned impishly. Hinata returned the grin with a weak smile.

"Oh. Right." Hinata said dumbly.

"So, I'll pick you up at eight then." Naruto said before he ran off, leaving Hinata standing there, a moment later he came back and sheepishly handed her a bag of hers.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Hinata stared at herself in the mirror, before falling back onto her bed. _I look stupid._

But wasn't the point to look so out of character that no one recognized that it was shy, stupid Hinata? Hinata didn't know nor did she care, after she had spent another half hour in the mall looking for something that looked nothing like the rest of her wardrobe.

She hadn't purchased those sapphire studs but the chandelier earrings next to them, all to go with her blue sheer top and ridiculously tight jeans, a drastic variation from her usual preppy shirts.

She even did her makeup differently, blue glitter eye shadow and lots of black eyeliner. Dramatic and outlandish was what Naruto had said right? So Hinata had gone all out and bought temporary silver hair dye.

The silver streaks made her look almost unrecognizable. Which again was a good thing. Now the trick was sneaking out so her father never knew where she was going. Although most of the time he didn't care whether or not she went out or not, he would never let her out of the house looking like this.

So she climbed down from her third story window on the tree next to her room. Stumbling as she landed on the dewy grass and tried to put on her shoes. Then she took a seat on a strategically placed bench and tried to keep cool.

She nearly had a heart attack when she heard the door open; only to realize it was the house next door's. Out stepped Uchiha Sasuke complete with guitar case and everything. Hinata felt the breath catch in her throat. He looked hoooottttttttt.

_Breathe in. Out. In._

Hinata's study of Sasuke was interrupted by Naruto's broken down violent orange car puling up to the side of the curb, Hinata slowly made her way toward it.

"Hi." She said as she slid into the backseat.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed loudly from behind the wheel, Sabaku Gaara sat in the front seat, he gave her a blank look. Akimichi Chouji was occupying the seat next to hers. "Hey Hinata." He said cheerfully.

"Hi, Chouji."

And then silence, until Sasuke slid into the next on Hinata's other side and slammed the door shut, "Where's Shikamaru?" he said after Naruto started driving again.

"Temari's giving him a ride." Gaara said from the front seat.

"Why?"

"Because they were having coffee at the mall earlier." Hinata replied quickly.

Gaara sent her another blank look, "I was with Ino when she almost had an aneurysm." She explained quickly. Gaara smirked, "Temari told me about that." He said smugly.

"If we're done yapping let's get this show on the road!" Naruto exclaimed loudly before honking several times and pulling out of the neighborhood.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"You know, I'm beginning to think you aren't gay." Itachi said conversationally to Sasuke as they waited backstage.

"I'm not, Stupid." Sasuke said darkly.

"This is the first time you've shown interest in someone who's a girl." Itachi began again, idly examining a dark nail.

"So you're saying that I've shown interest in a guy?"

"We-ell you do spend all that time with Naruto."

"That is just wrong."

"Don't insult your boyfriend like that."

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

"Riiiight."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Hinata?" Shino asked is surprise as he made his way over to the bar.

"S-Shino-kun?" Hinata responded.

"Haven't seen you around in awhile." Shino remarked serenely.

"How've you been?" Hinata asked nervously.

"Alright, you?"

**Don't even think about it. Shino can't help you. No one can.**

_Shut up._

"Oi! Shino where'd you go--" Kiba's eyes went very wide when he saw Hinata, "Hey Hinata-chan, what brings you to a place like this?"

Hinata's eyebrows went up, "Naruto-san invited me."

"Interesting." Temari noted as she took the stool next to Hinata.

"Hey, aren't you friends with Ino?" Temari asked smiling viciously, Hinata felt the corners of her mouth twitch.

"Depends on how you define a friend." Hinata found herself saying.

Temari's vicious smile got even wider, "So you have personality after all."

"Gee, thanks. I totally needed your approval." _Did I just say that? Oh shit._

"Dissention in the ranks! I salute you for your unexpected show of individuality." Temari clicked her heels together.

"O-Okay."

"Are you scaring off people again?" Gaara demanded in his normal monotone.

"Scaring? No way, I was just making friends Hinata. Right?" Temari said calmly.

"…right." Hinata said somewhat confused.

**END**

I've forgotten how much I love writing this fic.

Soulcollector- it was not!

Hitomi No Ryu- I should write a fic about that…

Rebel-blah-blah-blah- I have one it's called This Is How A Heart Breaks

Anime/Manga lubber- hah.

TheFutureFreaksMeOut- OMG TFFMO is reviewing my fic…T-T

Goth Flamango- fwah.

lunarangel-there will be a plot twist about Kiba…so wait for it.

Fractured wings 01- heh

Thunder sister- fine kill me.


	4. Cold Fire

_**Teenage Wasteland**_

_**by Jasmine Starlight**_

Full summary: Sasu/Hina. He was Uchiha Sasuke, he attends Konoha High, as a whacked out punk, he has a brother who's a dick and is also dating his English teacher, a garage band that seemed promising. She was Hyuuga Hinata, popular and pleasant. But she has problems of her own to deal with, another sucky father who placed value in his other offspring(Like Sasuke). If only she could be…more like Hanabi. Really, the two of them coming together had come out of nowhere...tortured daughter and tortured artist? I mean where's the attraction there?

I have been ignoring this story blatantly. And the overpopulation of the universe has disgusted me with all the fan girls who write themselves into stories in ways that have all the main male/female characters in love with them as a sick way to overcompensate for the fact that their parents wouldn't let them go the Usher concert.

**CHAPTER FOUR **

**COLD FIRE**

"When's the band going to play?" Kiba asked.

"Uchiha said in a couple of minutes, getting bored with the lack of scantily clad girls here already?" Gaara said sneeringly.

Shino looked at Kiba oddly, Hinata noted this and wondered what happened to her old childhood friends to make them act funny, "You also seem to be getting bored, that's why you seemed to have been sneering at the girl Naruto's been talking to for the past ten minutes."

"…"

"Moving on—where did Shikamaru go?" Temari asked disinterestedly.

"He's probably sleeping backstage." Gaara sneered before a stage hand arrived to make sure he got to the stage on time.

Hinata cleared her throat awkwardly, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to present you with the opening act—The Flaming Foxes and One Evil Raccoon?"

Temari rolled her eyes, "How original." She drawled to Hinata, who ignored her in favor of staring dazedly at Sasuke while he crooned into the mic.

"_And I'm good, good; good to go  
I got to get away  
Get away from all of my mistakes_

"Ne, Temari-san?" Hinata nearly shouted over the loud music.

"What?"

"Does Sasuke have a girlfriend?"

"_So here I sit looking at the traffic lights  
The red extinguishes the hope that the green ignites  
I want to run away I want to ditch my life  
Cause all of my mistakes keep me awake at night  
_

"Interested in taking up the position?"

Hinata flushed and looked at her toes.

"I hear the position's open."

"_And after all of my alibis desert me  
I just want to get by  
I don't want nothing to hurt me  
I had no idea where my head was at  
But if my heart says I'm sorry can we leave it at that  
Because I just want for all of this to end_

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"So what did you do over the weekend?"

"I went out." Hinata briefly closed her eyes, why was she so tired?

"With who?"

"Some people from school."

"Friends?"

"Sort of." Hinata fidgeted in her chair.

_**Why do you keep returning to this dullard?**_

_Because he has my best interest at heart._

**_What he has at heart is the big fat check your father gives him at the end of each and every month._**

_That's not true._

_**Yes it is.**_

_No it isn't._

**_Why do you think that therapy will get rid of me? Don't you see? I'm a part of you. How long will you carry on this charade of trying "to get better"? I'll be around till the day of your sorry death. _**

_No, you're something that grew out of my incredibly low self-esteem. A figment of my idiotic imagination._

"What do you mean by "sort of"?"

"I-I've always known them but w-we've never hung out—outside of school."

"Why is that?"

"I-I'm not sure."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Class it's time for me to assign your project—which will be worth 66 of your grade," Kakashi paused to look at his pupils, most of whom were completing homework from other classes—presumably Gai's.

"The project will be done in pairs." Kakashi waited for the exclamation of joy to wake his class up.

Ino's heavily made-up eyes sharpened to rapt attention. "We'll pick partners by a draw. On each slip of paper there's a genre of literature. There are two slips with each genre on them, you find your partner by finding the person with the same topic as you."

Kakashi sniffed before shoving the box in front of Sasuke who drew a pastel blue slip, he went down each row until the box was empty.

"Alright now that you have your genres you and you partner will have to write a short novella, with relatable characters, you also will be giving me character sketches, analysis's, plot summaries—whatever you feel like giving me.

Finally your project will culminate with a movie version of your book. Now, since the copy machine is broken," Naruto snorted, "I'll have to give you the outline tomorrow. Naruto! Since you're so vocal tell the class what genre you chose."

Ino's eyes brightened.

"Er—Fantasy." Ino glared menacingly.

"Who else has fantasy?"

"I do." Gaara said.

Ino's glare intensified.

"How nice! The rest of you! Find your partners, now! You have five minutes."

Hinata opened her slip, "Drama or Tragedy." Sasuke said from over her shoulder, which made Hinata's flush return.

"I guess we're partners." Hinata sighed.

"Better than being partners with Sakura."

Hinata allowed herself to crack a tiny smile.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"When do you want to start?"

Hinata slammed her locker shut in surprise as Sasuke materialized out of nowhere. "Um—today?" she asked nervously.

"Whatever." Sasuke replied as he fell into step with Hinata.

"H-Have any ideas?" Hinata said quietly as they exited the school.

Sasuke remained silent for a full five minutes—Hinata counted each one of them.

"Not really."

Hinata sighed.

"Where do you want to do this?"

"Not my house." She said quickly.

Sasuke stared at her oddly. "Alright then."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Any character ideas?" Hinata asked boredly.

"Nope." Sasuke said as he flipped through his literature textbook dimly.

Hinata sighed as resumed staring at the ceiling, "W-Well why don't we start with character names?" she suggested quietly.

"Whatever."

"Setting?"

"Jupiter." Hinata stared at Sasuke incredulously.

"I'm serious." Sasuke insisted, sitting up from his slouch, "If we want to get the high grades we have to make sure Kakashi doesn't read his Icha Icha Paradise over our novel."

Hinata's eyebrows rose considerably, "How do you know what kind of pornography Kakashi-sensei likes?"

Sasuke cleared his throat awkwardly, "You don't want to know."

"Y-Yes, I think I do."

"No you don't." Sasuke said abruptly as he stood up and went into the aisle of bookcases.

"Yes I do." Hinata insisted curiously as she tried to keep up with Sasuke's brisk pace.

Sasuke gave her a disgusted look, "You really want to know?"

"Y-Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely?"

"Absolutely."

"Positive—" Hinata irritably interrupted him by latching both her manicured hands onto the collar of his shirt, "Yes, I'm positive."

**My, my, play nice Hinata. **

Sasuke seemed amused, he then leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, sending delicious shivers up her spine.

And then he was gone, disappearing down another aisle. Hinata quickly ran after him, "Where?"

She found him in the children's section, looking at books on the planets.

"Jupiter For Kiddies?"

"Yes, it's easier than trying to translate the jargon that's supposed to be our textbooks."

Hinata moved a little closer, from this distance she could faintly smell his deodorant, "What time is it?" he asked suddenly, snapping the book shut.

"4.36." Hinata replied softly.

"Then I have to go to work."

"Where do you work?"

"Here." Sasuke said as he made his way to the counter and put on an apron. "That will be $23.47. How would you like to pay? Cash or credit?" Sasuke asked mechanically.

"What?"

"For the research books." Sasuke said boredly.

"Shouldn't there be other people in here?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the closed sign is up."

"Wait, so you closed the store to do our project?"

"No."

"…"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I can."

"Are you the only one working here?"

"Why?"

"Why does it matter if I ask?"

"Maybe there's a personal reason that I'm not ready to divulge to you."

"What?"

"So are you leaving or what?"

"In a hurry to get rid of me?"

"No. I could do this all day."

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer." Hinata said frustratedly, running a hand through her hair, "Fine, I'll go." she said before going to gather her books.

"Here. Keep the change." She said handing him a hundred.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

**END**

Anime/Manga Lubber- Hah.

Lunarangel- I will because I like yaoi.

mi.shoe- Not really.

Hokai Amplifier- Love you.

The Dark Hanyou- I like Hinata's clothes too.

Kenshinlover2002- I think Sasuke is gay. I 3 SasuNaru

Nanogirl- I don't see Sasuke as romantic, it ruins the basis of his character.

NanamiYatsumaki- SO many reviews. :)


	5. Strange One

_**Teenage Wasteland**_

_**by Jasmine Starlight**_

Full summary: Sasu/Hina. He was Uchiha Sasuke, he attends Konoha High, as a whacked out punk, he has a brother who's a dick and is also dating his English teacher, a garage band that seemed promising. She was Hyuuga Hinata, popular and pleasant. But she has problems of her own to deal with, another sucky father who placed value in his other offspring(Like Sasuke). If only she could be…more like Hanabi. Really, the two of them coming together had come out of nowhere...tortured daughter and tortured artist? I mean where's the attraction there?

I have to stop ignoring this story.

**CHAPTER FIVE **

**STRANGE ONE**

"Has anything interesting happened since our last session?"

_**Going to tell him about your new boyfriend? Why not? You tell him everything else except what cup size you wear. **_

"N-No; not really."

**_Yes, stutter like the mindless, waste of flesh you are, you can't even stand up to yourself._**

"That's very vague of you."

"How do you mean?"

_**He means that you're lying again! Hinata-chan why can't you tell anyone the truth? Is it because they won't like you when they find out about your dirty little secrets? They don't like you anyway. Not your friends. Not your father. Not Hanabi. Not Neji. Not that piece of trash Sasuke!**_

_Shut up! I hate you! You're worthless, go away!_

_**Has Hinata-chan met her match?**_

_GO AWAY!_

"Hinata?"

"Hinata?"

"Hinata!"

"Huh. What is it?"

"Where were you? You seemed to have dazed off." Iruka remarked concernedly, staring at his patient intently.

"I'm sorry!" Hinata said smiling sheepishly, "I-It's just I have finals coming up and I'm really stressed out with my studies!" she said bowing repeatedly.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Written anything?"

Hinata wasn't surprised this time, merely, she closed her locker and began walking to away, Sasuke not far behind.

"Sort of." She replied quietly; pulling out a crumpled piece of loose leaf.

Sasuke remained silent as he skimmed the scribbled paragraphs, "Bleak." he remarked after finishing.

Hinata sighed, "Keep it—maybe you can make something out of it."

"Like what?"

"A prologue maybe—I'm not sure." Hinata said distractedly.

"Hmm—alright, what about the character sketches Kakashi was talking about?"

Hinata was stopped from answering by Ino and Sakura, "Hinata! Where were you yesterday?" she demanded in irritation, completely ignoring Sasuke's presence. Hinata sighed again.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Hinata made a move to speak, "Maybe you think you're better than us because—"

"Hey Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed loudly, predictably Ino turned around and Sasuke flitted off with Hinata in tow.

"You'd think that maybe she'd see through a kindergartener's trick." Sasuke remarked smugly.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"So what should he do next?" Sasuke asked boredly as he rang up several cartons of ramen for Naruto.

Hinata boredly held up a sign with several question marks on it from her table away from the register, "That's nice." Sasuke said in irritation.

"Hurry up, Temee." Naruto said impatiently.

"What's your hurry Usurakontachi?" Sasuke said as he bagged the other boy's purchases quickly.

"Gaara's waiting for me outside." Naruto said before bolting outside. Sasuke sighed and fiddled with his green apron.

"Next!" He called out loudly; much to his disdain Yamanaka Ino dropped her daily regimen of beauty products onto his conveyor belt.

Sasuke sighed again and mechanically began scanning the many bottles of perfume, lipstick, mascara, etc.

It took three angry beeps from the scanner for Sasuke to realize that there was no barcode on the tube of blemish cream he was trying to register. Sasuke yawned boredly and typed in the name of the product on his computer—nothing. The Uchiha boy smiled his patented creepy smile and picked up the phone.

"Can I get a price check for Midol Extra Strength? Register 5. Price check on--"

Sasuke waited as Hinata collapsed into a fit of snickering.

"Price check on Midol Extra Strength is $4.76."

Sasuke picked up the phone, "Thanks."

After scanning all the bottles of nail polish, he was finally done—"Your total is $65.32, cash or credit?"

A glowering Ino handed him a crisp hundred dollar bill. "Your change is $34.68 have a nice day."

Sasuke checked his watch and let out a deep exhalation as his shift was over, he hurriedly untied his apron and made his way to Hinata's table, where she was scribbling away furiously.

"Here." She said triumphantly handing him a piece of torn notebook paper.

He snorted as he scanned the paragraph, "Where am I supposed to put this?" he asked quizzically.

"I don't know," Hinata shrugged and blew bubbles in her macchiato.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and checked his watch, "It's almost 5.30—didn't you have to be somewhere?"

Hinata gave him a blank look for a moment before clapping a hand to her forehead. "I was supposed to meet Ino at the mall." Hinata blanched at the thought of Ino's raging temper.

"Tomorrow?"

Hinata thought for a moment, "My house."

"4?"

"4.30."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Promptly at 4.27 Sasuke made his way to his neighbor's house and rang the bell—today he was wearing one of his most tame outfits consisting of black jeans and his most colorful shirt—which was a black button down with white pinstripes.

The door was opened by someone who seemed to resemble Hinata vaguely with a phone practically glued to her ear—"Who are you?" she asked loudly.

"Is Hinata here?" Sasuke asked in his most non-threatening, non-brooding, non-dark voice.

Hanabi frowned for a moment; "Yeah she's upstairs in her room." She said tersely.

Sasuke gave her a blank look—"Last door in that hallway. You can go right in." She said impatiently, as she ushered him in and toward the staircase.

Slowly he climbed the substantial staircase and meandered into the correct hallway; the last door was painted in pale lavender.

Knocking lightly to no answer, Sasuke let himself into the sun filled room.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Meanwhile Hinata was having a nice, relaxing soak in her bathtub unawares of the intruder in her room.

The bubbles were rather fun, Hinata yawned and stretched leisurely and looked at the kitty clock mounted on the far wall. 4.32. "Wasn't there something I was supposed to do?" she muttered tiredly.

She sank back into the bubbles and dozed off before it hit her—that realization sent her flying into action.

Quickly draining the tub and belting her terrycloth robe around her waist she hurried into her room to find Sasuke alphabetizing her CD collection.

Words could not describe the shade of red her cheeks turned, Sasuke raised his eyebrows, "I thought we were going to work on a project." He said in surprise.

"Shut up." She mumbled in embarrassment as she slammed her drawers in search of her clothes while Sasuke's grin seemed to grow bigger.

"Stop doing that." She hissed as she retreated back into the bathroom.

"Doing what?" Sasuke called back innocently as his eyes were drawn to the only drawer Hinata'd left open in her haste. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for her, it was her lingerie drawer.

"Black lace—classy."

"What was that?" Hinata said as she slowly walked out of the bathroom.

"Nothing." Sasuke said disinterestedly.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

Three hours later and the duo were still only in the early workings of their great novel.

"This is ridiculous." Hinata said as she slumped down in her computer chair.

"You're telling me." Sasuke remarked from his fixed position on the floor.

Idly, Hinata snapped to attention when a conversation with Ino popped up.

**XoxoDivaxoxo: Can you believe that Uchiha kid?**

**WhiteLaceGirl: What about him?**

**XoxoDivaxoxo: He's sooo…not-matching.**

Hinata let out a sharp bark of laughter, which roused Sasuke from his temporary slumber.

"What?"

"Come and read this." She said, all the while grinning goofily.

Sasuke snorted as he read it, "If you please," he said stealing the keyboard.

**WhiteLaceGirl: OMG! I totally agree! Liek black w/black don't match at all. **

**XoxoDivaxoxo: And horrible…**

**WhiteLaceGirl: and that hair! It's like black. Like, why would someone want like black hair, like?**

**XoxoDivaxoxo: Yeah.**

**WhiteLaceGirl: Like, I bet, he's like, gay, like, or something, like. **

**XoxoDivaxoxo: Yes.**

**WhiteLaceGirl: Like, despite all of that, like, he's sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hawttt**

"Sasuke!" Hinata admonished.

"What? Don't you think I'm hot?" he asked innocently.

Hinata stared at him blankly, "Fine just for that, I have to write this."

**WhiteLaceGirl: Like, didn't you and Sakura, like, stalk him, like, when we were, like, in middle school, like, right, like?**

**XoxoDivaxoxo: That was when he wore colors. **

**WhiteLaceGirl: So you like, admit that you, like, used to, like, like him?**

**XoxoDivaxoxo:…used to. **

**WhiteLaceGirl: But, like, now, he's like in a band, like. That is sooooooooooo haawwt. ZOMGBBQ!**

"That's enough." Hinata said weakly as Sasuke began tapping out more messages that were getting more and more idiotic.

Hinata let out a breath of air as she signed off the internet and opened up the file where their story was saved.

"I was having fun." Sasuke said as he scanned the newly written chapter.

"At my expense." Hinata replied crossly.

"What? Does Ino save all the conversations she has with everyone and store them on her computer for blackmail?"

"Yes."

"Are you serious?" he asked leaning closer to her.

"Probably, I mean if everyone "loves" you, then I guess you have to be on your toes all the time." Hinata said gingerly poking the '1' button on her keyboard that didn't work properly.

"Aren't you her friend?"

"That's a better reason for her to record our every conversation because I might stab her in the back one day, or something." Hinata said annoyedly.

"I see." Sasuke said quietly.

There was a moment of silence before Sasuke said something.

"I didn't know Ino was planning to blackmail the entire school, I mean, are spoken conversations recorded too? Then teachers will have something to worry about—"

Hinata started giggling quietly. Sasuke's lips quirked.

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Hey, should we make it a romance?"

Hinata sighed tiredly; there had been a distinct lack of sleep in her life. "Straight?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you were a yaoi fan girl, but judging from your manga content you wouldn't mind if they were gay."

Hinata slumped down over her books.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine." Hinata mumbled weakly.

"Get up." Sasuke said.

Hinata looked up from her obscured view of bangs and books into Sasuke's eyes, "Why?"

"We're ditching that's why. Let's go."

"What? I can't."

"I have gym and you only have health. No one cares anyway."

_**£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£**_

"Where are we going?"

"Nowhere, just be quiet."

"You know, in some places this could be construed as kidnapping."

"In most places, this is construed as consideration."

**END**

Too burnt out to reply to reviewers.


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